Toothbrush comprising a brush member having a bristle field and an interdental brisle field

ABSTRACT

In a toothbrush ( 1 ) having a brush member ( 3 ) which carries a bristle holder ( 7 ) with a bristle field ( 10 ) and an interdental bristle holder ( 11 ) with an interdental bristle field ( 14 ), the bristle field ( 10 ) comprises a first field portion ( 15 ) and a second field portion ( 16 ), the first field portion ( 15 ) being disposed nearer the interdental bristle field ( 14 ) than the second field portion ( 16 ) and the bristles ( 17 ) of the first field portion ( 15 ) being shorter than the interdental bristles ( 13 ) and the bristles ( 18 ) of the second field portion ( 16 ) being longer than the bristles ( 17 ) of the first field portion ( 15 ) and thus at the same time form interdental bristles.

[0001] The invention relates to a toothbrush comprising a grip memberand a brush member connected to the grip member, which brush member hasa longitudinal axis and at its end remote from the grip member carries abristle holder which is reciprocatingly drivable through a centerposition, which bristle holder is mounted on the brush member so as tobe movable with respect to a holder axis which extends transversely tothe longitudinal axis and which bristle holder has a holder surfacewhich extends substantially transversely to the holder axis and fromwhich, in the area of the holder surface, bristles project transverselyto the holder surface, which bristles together form a bristle field, andwhich in addition comprises an interdental bristle holder, which isreciprocatingly drivable through a center position and is disposedadjacent the bristle holder in the direction of the longitudinal axis ofthe brush member, which interdental bristle holder is mounted on thebrush member so as to be movable and has a further holder surface andfrom which in the area of the further holder surface interdentalbristles project transversely to the further holder surface, whichinterdental bristles together form an interdental bristle field.

[0002] The invention further relates to a brush member for a toothbrushwhich brush member is adapted to be coupled detachably to a grip memberof the toothbrush and which brush member has a longitudinal axis and atits end remote from the grip member carries a bristle holder which isreciprocatingly drivable through a center position, which bristle holderis mounted on the brush member so as to be movable with respect to aholder axis which extends transversely to the longitudinal axis andwhich bristle holder has a holder surface which extends substantiallytransversely to the holder axis and from which, in the area of theholder surface, bristles project transversely to the holder surface,which bristles together form a bristle field, and which in additioncomprises an interdental bristle holder, which is reciprocatinglydrivable through a center position and is disposed adjacent the bristleholder in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the brush member,which interdental bristle holder is mounted on the brush member so as tobe movable and has a further holder surface and from which in the areaof the further holder surface interdental bristles project transverselyto the further holder surface, which interdental bristles together forman interdental bristle field.

[0003] Such a toothbrush of the type defined in the first paragraph andsuch a brush member of the type defined in the second paragraph areknown, for example from the patent document WO 97/24079. The bristles ofthe bristle field of this known toothbrush and this known brush memberhave bristle lengths within a given nominal range, all the bristles onthe bristle holder having a smaller length than the interdentalbristles, i.e. being smaller than the interdental bristles. As a resultof this configuration the situation is obtained that with the knowntoothbrush and the known brush member the bristles of the bristle holderserve mainly for cleaning the teeth at the location of their easilyaccessible lateral surfaces and, if desired, theirmasticatory surfacesand the interdental bristles mainly serve for cleaning the teeth at thelocation of the interdental spaces. In practice, it has been found that,although a satisfactory cleaning performance can be obtained with theknown toothbrush, the attainable cleaning performance is still open toimprovement. It is to be noted that in the patent document WO 97/24079A1 the patent document DE 43 09 035 A1 is mentioned, which isincorporated herewith by reference.

[0004] It is an object of the invention to improve a toothbrush of thetype defined in the first paragraph and a brush member of the typedefined in the second paragraph in a simple manner and by simple meansin order to obtain an improved toothbrush and an improved brush member.

[0005] According to the invention, in order to achieve this object atoothbrush of the type defined in the first paragraph is characterizedin that the bristle field comprises a first field portion and a secondfield portion and in that the first field portion is disposed at theside of the bristle holder nearest the interdental bristle field and thesecond field portion is disposed at the side of the bristle holderremote from the interdental bristle field, and in that the bristles ofthe first field portion are shorter than the interdental bristles, andin that the bristles of the second field portion are longer than thebristles of the first field portion and the bristles of the second fieldportion thus at the same time form interdental bristles. Owing to themeasures in accordance with the invention an improved toothbrush isobtained in a very simple manner and by simple means, which hardlyrequire any additional expense, which is achieved in that in atoothbrush in accordance with the invention some of the bristles on thebristle holder are also available for the purpose of cleaning teeth inthe interdental spaces. In adition to a distinctly improved removal ofplaque in the interdental spaces by means of the bristles in the secondfield area of the bristle field, these bristles already present in thesecond field in conjunction with the interdental bristles provide asatisfactory positioning of the whole bristle configuration of the brushmember with respect to a tooth to be cleaned, which is advantageous fora proper cleaning of the teeth at the location of their lateralsurfaces.

[0006] In a toothbrush in accordance with the invention it has proved tobe advantageous to apply the measures as defined in claims 2 and 3.

[0007] According to the invention, in order to achieve the objectmentioned hereinbefore, a brush member of the type defined in the secondparagraph is characterized in that the bristle field comprises a firstfield portion and a second field portion and in that the first fieldportion is disposed at the side of the bristle holder nearest theinterdental bristle field and the second field portion is disposed atthe side of the bristle holder remote from the interdental bristlefield, and in that the bristles of the first field portion are shorterthan the interdental bristles, and in that the bristles of the secondfield portion are longer than the bristles of the first field portionand the bristles of the second field portion thus at the same time forminterdental bristles. This provides a brush member in accordance withthe invention by means of which the advantages expounded hereinbeforefor a toothbrush in accordance with the invention can be obtained.

[0008] The above-mentioned as well as further aspects of the inventionwill become apparent from the embodiment described hereinafter by way ofexample and will be elucidated on the basis of this embodiment.

[0009] The invention will now be described in more detail with referenceto the drawings, which show an embodiment, given by way of example, towhich the invention is not limited.

[0010]FIG. 1 is a plan view to twice the full-size scale showing therelevant part of a toothbrush in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention, which part of the toothbrush includes the brush member ofthis toothbrush.

[0011]FIG. 2 shows the brush member of the toothbrush of FIG. 1 in aside view to the same scale as in FIG. 1 and taken at the arrow II inFIG. 1.

[0012]FIG. 3 shows the brush member of the toothbrush of FIGS. 1 and 2in a front view to the same scale as in FIGS. 1 and 2 and taken at thearrow III in FIG. 1.

[0013]FIG. 1 shows the relevant parts of a toothbrush 1 in accordancewith the invention. The toothbrush 1 has a grip member 2, which is shownonly partly in FIG. 1, and a brush member 3 connected to the grip member2. As regards a possible construction of the grip member 2 and the drivemeans for driving the bristles of the brush member, which means areaccommodated in the grip member 2 and partly in the brush member 3,reference is made to the document WO 97/24079 A1 mentioned in theintroductory part and to the international patent application bearingthe application numberPCT/IB 97/01357, which is incorporated herewith byreference.

[0014] The brush member 3 comprises a tubular portion 5, which extendsin the direction of a longitudinal axis 4 of the brush member 3, and adisc portion 6 which is integrally connected to the tubular portion 5 atthat end of the tubular portion 5 which is remote from the grip member2.

[0015] The disc portion 6 and, consequently, the end of the brush member3 remote from the grip member 2 carries a bristle holder 7, which isdrivable so as to be reciprocable through a center position shown inFIGS. 1, 2 and 3. The bristle holder 7 is mounted on the brush member 3,namely on the disc portion 6 of the brush member, so as to be movable,i.e. pivotable, with respect to a holder axis 8 which extendstransversely to the longitudinal axis 4, in the present case exactlyperpendicularly to the longitudinal axis 4. The bristle holder 7 isdrivable by drive means, not shown, the bristle holder 7 performingpivotal reciprocating movement along a circular path when the bristleholder 7 is driven.

[0016] The bristle holder 7 has a holder surface 9 which extendstransversely to the holder axis 8, in the present case perpendicularlyto the holder axis 9. Bristles project from the bristle holder 7 in thearea of the holder surface 9 and extend transversely to the holdersurface 9, in the present case perpendicularly to the holder surface 9.The bristles which project from the bristle holder 7 together form abristle field 10.

[0017] Moreover, the brush member 3 has an interdental bristle holder 11which is reciprocatingly drivable through a center position also shownin FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 and which is diposed adjacent the bristle holder 7in the direction of the longitudinal axis 4. In the toothbrush 1 shownin FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 the interdental bristle holder 11 is disposedadkacent the bristle holder 7 at the side of this holder 7 which isremote from the grip member 2. The interdental bristle holder 11 ismounted on the brush member 3, i.e. on the disc portion 6 of the brushmember 3, so as to be movable, i.e. so as to be pivotable. Theinterdental bristle holder 11 can be driven by drive means, not shown,the interdental bristle holder 11 performing a reciprocating pivotalmovement along a circular path. Thus, it is achieved that theinterdental bristle holder 11 performs a movement which is orientedsubstantially in the longitudinal direction of the interdental spacesbetween the teeth of a user.

[0018] The interdental bristle holder 11 has a further holder surface12. In the area of the further holder surface 12 interdental bristles 13project from the interdental bristle holder 11 transversely to thefurther holder surface 12, in the present case perpendicularly to thefurther holder surface 12. The interdental bristles 13 together form aninterdental bristle field 14.

[0019] In the toothbrush 1 shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 the bristle field10 of the bristle holder 7 advantageously comprises a first fieldportion 15 and a second field portion 16. The first field portion 15 issituated at the side of the bristle holder 7 which faces the interdentalbristle field 14 and the second field portion 16 is situated at the sideof the bristle holder 7 which is remote from the interdental bristlefield 14. Furthermore, the configuration is advantageously set up insuch a manner that the bristles 17 in the first field portion 15 areshorter than the interdental bristles 13 and that the bristles 18 in thesecond field portion 15 are longer than the bristles 17 in the firstfield portion 15. Thus, the bristles 18 in the second field portion 16at the same time form interdental bristles.

[0020] As is apparent from FIG. 2, all the bristles 17 in the firstfield portion 15 have the same length.

[0021] As is also apparent from FIG. 2, the free ends of the bristles 18in the second field portion 16 are bounded by two bounding planes 19 and20 which are inclined relatove to one another and which are showndiagrammatically as dash-dot lines in FIG. 2.

[0022] With respect to the interdental bristles 13 it is to be notedthat the interdental bristles 13 are moderately inclined relative to theinterdental bristle holder 11, namely in such a manner that two groupsof interdental bristles 13 are inclined towards one another, thelongitudinal directions of the interdental bristles 13 of the two groupseach being oriented at an angle β with a respect to a normal to thefurther holder surface 12, which angle is approximately 10°.

[0023] In the toothbrush 1 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 the bristles in thesecond field portion 16 are, in addition, also available for toothcleaning purposes in the interdental spaces, which results in asubstantial improvement of the plaque removal in the interdental spacesin comparison with known toothbrushes and known brush members fortoothbrushes.In addition, the longer bristles 18 in the second fieldportion 16 in conjunction with the longer interdental bristles 13provide a correct positioning of the entire bristle configuration of thebrush member 3 with respect to a tooth to be cleaned, which isadvantageous for a proper tooth cleaning action both in the area oftheir lateral surfaces and in the area of the interdental spaces.

[0024] With regard to the bristle configuration 3 of the toothbrush asshown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 it is to be noted that in a practicalembodiment the following length dimensions were selected for theindividual bristle areas. The bristles 17 in the first field portion 15were given a length of 7.6 mm. For the bristles 18 in the second fieldportion 16 a maximum length of 9.3 mm was selected. For the interdentalbristles 13 a length of 11.0 mm was selected. Moreover, realizationswere tested in which the bristles 18 of the second field portion 16 hadan equal length of approximately 9.5 to 10.0 mm.

[0025] The invention is not limited to the embodiment describedhereinbefore by way of example. In a toothbrush in accordance with theinvention the interdental bristle holder may alternatively be arrangedadajcent a bristle holder at the side of this bristle holder nearest thegrip member of a toothbrush, in which case the second field portion ofthe bristle field is disposed on the bristle holder at the side of thebristle holder remote from the grip member.

1. A toothbrush (1) comprising a grip member (2) and a brush member (3)connected to the grip member (2), which brush member (3) has alongitudinal axis (4) and at its end remote from the grip member (2)carries a bristle holder (7) which is reciprocatingly drivable through acenter position, which bristle holder (7) is mounted on the brush member(3) so as to be movable with respect to a holder axis (8) which extendstransversely to the longitudinal axis (4) and which bristle holder (7)has a holder surface (9) which extends substantially transversely to theholder axis (8) and from which, in the area of the holder surface (9),bristles project transversely to the holder surface (9), which bristlestogether form a bristle field (10), and which in addition comprises aninterdental bristle holder (11), which is reciprocatingly drivablethrough a center position and is disposed adjacent the bristle holder(7) in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the brush member, whichinterdental bristle holder (11) is mounted on the brush member (3) so asto be movable and has a further holder surface (12) and from which inthe area of the further holder surface (12) interdental bristles (13)project transversely to the further holder surface (12), whichinterdental bristles (13) together form an interdental bristle field(14), characterized in that the bristle field (10) comprises a firstfield portion (15) and a second field portion (16) and in that the firstfield portion (15) is disposed at the side of the bristle holder (7)nearest the interdental bristle field (14) and the second field portion(16) is disposed at the side of the bristle holder (7) remote from theinterdental bristle field (14), and in that the bristles (17) of thefirst field portion (15) are shorter than the interdental bristles (13),and in that the bristles (18) of the second field portion (16) arelonger than the bristles (17) of the first field portion (15) and thebristles (18) of the second field portion (16) thus at the same timeform interdental bristles.
 2. A toothbrush (1) as claimed in claim 1 ,characterized in that all the bristles (17) of the first field portion(15) have the same length.
 3. A toothbrush (1) as claimed in claim 1 ,characterized in that the bristles (18) of the second field portion (16)are bounded at their free ends by two bounding planes (19, 20) which areinclined with respect to one another in a wedge-like fashion.
 4. A brushmember (3) for a toothbrush (1) which brush member (3) is adapted to becoupled detachably to a grip member (2) of the toothbrush (1) and whichbrush member (3) has a longitudinal axis (4) and at its end remote fromthe grip member (2) carries a bristle holder (7) which isreciprocatingly drivable through a center position, which bristle holder(7) is mounted on the brush member (3) so as to be movable with respectto a holder axis (8) which extends transversely to the longitudinal axis(4) and which bristle holder has a holder surface (9) which extendssubstantially transversely to the holder axis (8) and from which, in thearea of the holder surface (9), bristles project transversely to theholder surface (9), which bristles together form a bristle field (10),and which in addition comprises an interdental bristle holder (11),which is reciprocatingly drivable through a center position and isdisposed adjacent the bristle holder (7) in the direction of thelongitudinal axis of the brush member, which interdental bristle holder(11) is mounted on the brush member (3) so as to be movable and has afurther holder surface (12) and from which in the area of the furtherholder surface (12) interdental bristles (13) project transversely tothe further holder surface (12), which interdental bristles (13)together form an interdental bristle field (14), characterized in thatthe bristle field (10) comprises a first field portion (15) and a secondfield portion (16) and in that the first field portion (15) is disposedat the side of the bristle holder (7) nearest the interdental bristlefield (14) and the second field portion (16) is disposed at the side ofthe bristle holder (7) remote from the interdental bristle field (14),and in that the bristles (17) of the first field portion (15) areshorter than the interdental bristles (13), and in that the bristles(18) of the second field portion (16) are longer than the bristles (17)of the first field portion (15) and the bristles (18) of the secondfield portion (16) thus at the same time form interdental bristles.
 5. Abrush member (3) as claimed in claim 4 , characterized in that all thebristles (17) of the first field portion (15) have the same length.
 6. Abrush member (3) as claimed in claim 5 , characterized in that thebristles (18) of the second field portion (16) are bounded at their freeends by two bounding planes (19, 20) which are inclined with respect toone another in a wedge-like fashion.